Public Support for Poverty-related Policies

Abstract

Objective: This research examined how public perceptions of the relationship between poverty and health predict support for poverty-related policies.

Methods: A random sample of 1,203 Albertans were interviewed by telephone to determine their perceptions of the relationship between poverty and health (myth, drift, behavioural, structural), and their support for government spending in six poverty-related policy areas: nutrition programs, housing, child care, increased welfare allowance, wage subsidies, and recreation programs.

Results: The greatest support was for child care programs, with the least support for increased welfare allowance. The degree of support for all policies except wage subsidies and recreation programs differed by the explanation chosen of the relationship between poverty and health. Those who chose a structural explanation were more likely to support government spending than those who chose a behavioural explanation.

Interpretation: Beliefs about the relationship between poverty and health influence support for policies. Public health professionals have a role in increasing public awareness of the structural factors that influence health.

Acknowledgements: This research was funded by Support for the Advancement of Scholarship Small Faculties Research Grant, University of Alberta, and Social Sciences Research Operating Grant, University of Alberta. We thank Diane Dennis, MSc, for research assistance on this project. We also acknowledge the support of the Population Research Laboratory, Department of Sociology, University of Alberta.

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